They’re a cheaper and often less stressful way to get around a big city, but compared to a car, bikes kind of suck when it comes to hauling cargo. A trailer certainly helps if you’re willing to put in the extra effort needed to haul it, but there’s now a better solution. Someone’s created a self-propelled bike trailer that makes it feel like your bicycle is pulling nothing at all.
Electric bike trailers already exist, but they’re designed to propel both the trailer and the bike, serving as an easy upgrade for riders who don’t want to pedal. The creators of the Brouhaha trailer don’t want it to do all the work for you, though, so its electric motor is continuously adjusted by a force sensor so it’s only ever propelling the trailer, not the bike. As a result, a cyclist can haul up to 400 pounds of cargo without it feeling like anything is attached to their bike.
Functional prototypes of the Brouhaha trailer already exist, but to put it into production its creators are trying to raise $US80,000 on Kickstarter. If and when it’s successful, a pledge of $US5000 will reserve you one of the first production units. But if you’re cautious about spending that much money on something that doesn’t really exist yet (and you should be), you can pledge as little as $US1200 for a three-month rental of one of the Brouhaha prototypes. [Kickstarter – Brouhaha Bicycle Trailer via Gizmag]